Do we suffer from an “expert” bias? Photo: Christopher Michael. Source: Flikr We tend to trust the views of experts, especially when it’s about something we haven’t experienced ourselves. If I haven’t travelled to Antarctica, I’ll generally trust someone who’s actually been there – even if they travelled to the islands on the Antarctic Peninsula, and I’m headed for the South Pole – over 1500 miles away. This is natural. When we’re in unfamiliar territory, we want a guide. We look for someone to [...]

Why do our brains make it so hard to make money? Source: Magdalenesmuse Thinking is hard work. Concentrating hard on a task drains sugar from key parts of the brain. So we use shortcuts to help us make decisions. We draw pictures; we remember past experiences; we tell ourselves stories to explain the data. […]